Jillian Michaels Making the Cut

Runningjunkie

Runningjunkie

New member
I picked this book up last week because it was everything I needed...a clear, concise block of information and a plan to get me eating right and exercising to my potential.
I am on Day 3 (a rest day, Thank God), and so far, I absolutely love it. The recipes have been awesome, and aside from the cottage cheese with cinnamon and splenda, the food is great. I have had to substiute some things due to cost or availability (swordfish is expensive, IF you can find it), but it's pretty easy to follow recipe-wise.
The workouts are killer, to say the least. I am in fairly decent shape even after taking some time off, but right now, I can barely walk up the stairs, my quads, hams and glutes are THAT sore.
Honestly, if after 30 days I'm not in the best shape of my life, I'm going to find Jillian Michaels and throw the book at her...lol. This is one plan that I feel in my heart is going to work.

Anyone else tried it or is on it now? What do you think?
 
What sort of workouts does she have you doing and what specifically is your goal?

I've seen her on television on a workout channel and she's always promoting exercises that 'tone' and it's enough for me never to recommend her products.

Was curious what sort of stuff she has in this book.
 
I have one of here kickboxing DVD's... its OKAY not my fav, but for sure gets your heart racing! I love her though, the tough love she gives is really motivational! Keep us posted on how it works out!
 
Steve said:
What sort of workouts does she have you doing and what specifically is your goal?

I've seen her on television on a workout channel and she's always promoting exercises that 'tone' and it's enough for me never to recommend her products.

Was curious what sort of stuff she has in this book.
Click to expand...


The workouts she has laid out are done in circuits. 5 different circuits with a burst of cardio at the end of each circuit, and a 30 sec rest in between. I don't have my book with me at work, but an example would be 10 sets of dumbell presses on a body ball followed by dumbell flys on a body ball, 10 pushups, tricep rope extensions to failure, and a 1 min sprint at 7 mph. That's not an accurate circuit, but it's very similar. Yesterday, the cardio burst was a 1 min sprint at 5.5 mph at a 10% grade. You also jump rope and do mountain climbers (which I personally cannot stand).
The book is designed for people with the last 10 or 20 lbs to lose (which is where I am) and she tells you over and over in the first chapter that if you are not in shape and cannot do the exercises in the fitness test on at least an average level, you should not do the program.
I have her DVD's as well, and I agree that they are tough. In the book, she packs a lot of work into a short workout...a complete circuit workout takes about 45 min and she recommends an additional 15 min of cardio to round things out. She also recommends doing twice daily workouts to maximize the "afterburn" from working out. Monday I could do it, yesterday there was just no way.
I can honestly say though, that after only 3 days, I feel 100% better than I did, and I'm learning how to pack a lot of food into as few calories as possible. I can't wait until next Monday to see how much weight I've lost.
 
I don't mean to be a negative nancy and rain on your parade. If you enjoy it and it gives you the results you're after... have at it!

But the last thing people who are trying to lose the last 10-15 lbs need is circuit training in my experience.

High rep, low weight stuff is for people carrying a lot of fat in general. People who don't have a lot of fat to lose require 'strength training' for muscle maintenance.
 
I'm not sure where you got that it was high rep, low weight. She doesn't tell you specifically how much weight to use, but with low reps (10-15), I would naturally assume that you are to use higher weight.
We shall see how this all pans out. I still plan on training for a 10k next month, so I'm likely going to do my training runs in the evening...provided my legs will let me...lol.
 
Runningjunkie said:
I'm not sure where you got that it was high rep, low weight. She doesn't tell you specifically how much weight to use,
Click to expand...

If I misunderstood than my apologies. I thought you said it's a circuit where you go from one exercise to the next with no rest for the same muscle group and then top it off with running.

This is endurance training in my book. Just b/c each exercise is low reps (10-15 is not low), that doesn't mean it's not a high rep circuit.
 
No, each group gets its rest, but with these circuits, you are combining more than one muscle group with each exercise. It's more than just sitting at a machine doing reps. For instance, there are several lunges with hammer curls or shoulder raises done at the same time. So, not only are you working your legs with the lunges, but you are also working your arms and shoulders and getting your heart rate up all at the same time. Her approach to fitness is to work muscles with the same function on the same days. So one day you will work your back, triceps and hamstrings since they are all muscles involved with pushing, and the pull muscles will be worked another day. I'll post a day's circuit tomorrow to more fully explain what's happening.
In any case, my old routine was not working at all so I definitely needed something to change. I was doing 3+ miles on the treadmill followed by 20 min of weights and then a 5 mile bike ride. Old, stale and not working. This is shaking up my body and making it wonder what the hell is going on. Combined with the food, which I am frankly not used to eating (but is a bonus), I fully expect to see results.
I have no expectations of looking like Jillian after only a month, but I will be well on my way.
 
I'd be interested in seeing one of the actual workouts if you don't mind.

Best to you!
 
Ok, as promised, here is a workout. This was today's workout, which is Day 4:

Circuit 1
Dumbell press on body ball (20)
Dumbell flys on body ball using 1/2 the weight of the press (15)
Squats (50 fast)
1 min sprint at 7mph

Circuit 2
Plank (hold 10 sec)
Close grip push-ups (5)
Side planks with inner thigh raise (10)
Plank (5 sec)
Close grip push-ups (5)
Side planks with inner thigh raise (10)
Burpies (10)
Sumo squats (50)
1 min sprint at 7mph

Circuit 3
Frog push-ups (20)
Squat thrusts (20 then hold static squat for 30 sec)
W shoulder press with leg extension (10 each leg)
Jump rope 1 min

Circuit 4
Bench dips (20)
Rope tricep press (to failure)
Static lunge with lateral shoulder raise (10 each leg forward)
Mt. climbers (1 min)

Circuit 5
Jump rope 1 min
Bicycle crunches (50)
Extended plank (30 sec)

And there you have it. When I get done, I am dripping sweat. This is a TOUGH workout, and I LOVE IT!!!!
 
According to the book, no rest between exercises in each circuit. I take a 10-15 sec breather between them though. 30 seconds of rest between each circuit...I need at least a minute to catch my breath. It take 30 sec to walk from one area of the gym to the next.
 
In my mind, in the context of someone who doesn't have all that much weight to lose, it's too much metabolic work for optimal results in terms of physique enhancement. I'm sure it kicks your ass, no doubt in my mind. People often get confused though by what the various modalities of training are supposed to 'feel' like.

My rule of thumb, and I promise I'm not trying to sell you on anything here... no offense if you take my advice or not... but my rule of thumb in working with physique-oriented goals is very simple. I've got a handful of templates I use, based on 2-4 sessions a week, but the strength sessions are always oriented around limited volume and economy of training.

Metabolic type training is thrown in as assistance work after the muscle-preserving workouts are handled. Metabolic training should not be a priority in place of muscle retention; diet is going to be 90% of your fat loss results. Metabolic training is icing on the cake, and it will under no circumstances replace the core strength sessions.

I'm all for experimentation though. You haven't done anything like this before. And you're enjoying it. That's critically important. Just offering up a different perspective to fat loss at the stage of the game you currently find yourself in.

It's important to remember that fat loss will always happen in the face of a caloric deficit. Much of what I'm speaking about here is about optimizing muscle maintenance which is real important for those going for that lean look.
 
Thanks Steve, advice noted. My whole problem with weight loss has always been diet. I have the working out part down, I know what I need to do and how to do it without getting hurt, and I know when I need to push it.
The great thing about this book and what drew me to it were the recipes, meal plans and the science behind it. For instance, my paricular calorie percentages should be 30/40/30. I have not been able to keep my calories in that range. With the meal plans I am on right now, I am pretty close to those numbers, and it feels great. I have learned how to stay full on more food with fewer calories. That in and of itself was worth the price of the book. I told my husband that even if I didn't have a flat tummy at the end of the 30 days, I'd still be happy with what I have learned about food. It's only been 4 days, and I feel fantastic. It's a combination of the cleaner, healthier foods, the workouts and my state of mind, which plays a huge part in any weight loss program. I just cannot believe the difference in how I feel today vs this time last week.
Even if I go back to my old routine after these 30 days (which I doubt I will), I am now armed with the knowledge that I can do this, and aside from the staggering grocery bill, it is fairly easy to do. The food, anyway...lol.
 
I love your attitude.

So often when I comment on or critique a program someone is following they take serious offense to me. I always find this completely ridiculous, so thanks for being sensible.

I wish you the best.
 
You're welcome. It's too easy for people to get defensive about a particular program that they are on. There are no tried and true methods that work for everyone; fitness is subjective. What works for me may not work for someone else and vice versa. I feel that this particular program will work for me, especially with how energized I feel. I don't want to go back to feeling the way I was, which was slow and unfocused. I felt this way (great) 10 months ago around the time I got married and was only 5 lbs from my goal weight. Then things happened and fitness got put on the back burner. As you know, once you stop working out and eating right, it is HARD to start back again. I had made a decision to get back into the game so to speak and then I saw the book. The only bad thing that could come out of the book would be if it sat on a shelf collecting dust. I feel that it's a win-win situation...I follow the plan, and even if I don't lose the last 20 lbs, I still win because I know what to cook and how to cook it. My family benefits from it too because they are eating healthy without having to think about it. And with an overweight daughter, we need healthy foods in the house. So everybody wins. I told my husband at dinner the other night that I could get used to eating this way, and he said the same. This is now a lifestyle change, we're not going to go back to eating the crap that we were. I think that after awhile, we are going to lose our taste for all that processed crap anyway.
 
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